A pub has been fined £8,000 after a web users used its Wi-Fi connection to illegally download copyrighted material.

Customers obtain copyright content via The Cloud hotspot

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A pub has been fined £8,000 after web users used its Wi-Fi connection to illegally download copyrighted material.

Graham Cove, managing director of Wi-Fi hotspot provider The Cloud, which provides the pub in question with internet access, told ZDNet it was the first case of its kind in the UK, and took place "sometime this summer".

The pub hasn't been named but The Cloud provides internet access to a number of pub chains including Fullers, Greene King and Punch Taverns.

However, internet law professor Lilian Edwards from the Sheffield Law School, told the website that under existing copyright law, those businesses providing a Wi-Fi hotspot for their customers' use should not be held responsible for unlawful downloads.

Edwards also said the Digital Economy Bill, which includes legislation designed to crack down on illegal downloaders by potentially disconnecting them from the web, would not apply because "the business could be classified as a public communications service provider, which would make it exempt". The bill states only "subscribers" can be disconnected.

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Comments

Jimboweb said: Comments,Jimboweb,Sounds like the guy from The Cloud is telling porkies so that nobody else will do it. As with all urban legends if there isn't a name attached then it is usually false.

DrAT said: Comments,DrAT,What's going on? Fined for someone else's crime now. With letters offering pay £600 now or be sued for £000's and the prosecution of owners of open WiFi access points it makes me wonder what happened to the law. These prosecutions sound like an internet con. 'I could sue you for lots but I won't if you give me some money.' I used to believe that you had to be guilty of something before you could be punished, and that the 'something' had to be proved. Obviously not when the concerns of mega corporations are concerned. I have a few thoughts on why this might be the case but I'm going to keep them to myself. I just hope noone steals my car and uses it for crime.Having fought a spurious traffic penalty recently I should have known better. The penalty became higher the further through my appeal I went. When I eventually won, I stood to lose over £1,000 if I had lost. The original fine was £60 but it kept doubling each step of the way.

Laurie said: Comments,Laurie,Surely, if this sory is true then it must be the case under UK law that all ISPs are responsible for allowing customers to download copyright material, and should therefore also be fined.
Doesn't this therefore make the internet illegal!

Carl Barron said: Comments,Carl Barron,All Internet Cafes and Wi-Fi hotspot owners should read this.
As a pub owner in UK has been fined £8000 by the government when one of his customers was caught downloading copyrighted digital content from the pub’s Wi-Fi hotspot do read the following.
Hence all such public facilities offering either Internet connection be it Wi-Fi hotspot.or other should consult with a solicitor as to placing a ‘Disclaimer Notice’ in full view of the public, and or getting the user / users to sign a disclaimer disclaiming any legal responsibilities for content viewed or downloaded.
Both technically and legally speaking this new Law as to downloading ‘Copyright Material is seriously faulty. As 99% of every WebPage you view be it Google News or other commercial webpage is Copyrighted, hence when you download that page under this faulty law you are committing a crime as it is downloaded into your web browser to enable you to read it.
Signed Carl Barron Chairman of agpcuk